10+4 BG Questions with Sean Ross about "Haggis"

I am starting a new section/type of post today. It's essentially an 'interview' with a game designer. Without going into too much behind-the-scenes thinking (as that isn't the focus here), I thought it would be fun to ask game designers some questions electronically and then post their responses and maybe throw in some other related information if it's relevant.

I initially thought 20 or 25 questions, but when coming up with a list of questions it seemed a bit too long and unwieldy. I also had the idea of doing maybe 20 questions + 5 follow-up questions, but again, too many. So, I then thought 10+5 questions might be good (not too many, but then enough to do good follow-up). However, I couldn't think of a good name for what I would call this 'type' of interview. Magazines often have a "10 questions with the author" sort of thing so how do I do this and be a little different at the same time?

So, I came up with "10+4 BG (Board Game)" questions which is bit of a play on "10-4 Good Buddy" for CB radio speak. Not that I'm into CB radio or anything and not that it even makes sense in terms of CB radio slang, but there you have it. I have no intention of extending the relation further than that. What is does ultimately do, though, is force me to ask (hopefully) interesting and diverse questions and then 4 focused follow-up questions looking for more specific detail or expanding on something mentioned in the previous 10 answers.

Well, we'll see how successful this is, but I like the concept at least. Something else I didn't expect was how many MORE questions I ended up wanting to ask after the initial 10. And, as you will see, I cheated a little bit here asking 2 questions in one in a couple of cases, and asking extra follow-up questions to other individuals. So much for structure, but rules are meant to be broken, right? Let's just say it's a 'variant' :)

Why Haggis and Sean Ross for your first 10+4 BG feature?
Well, a couple of reasons, the most obvious being that I just got Haggis, I have enjoyed the game so far and am excited about it but didn't know much about the background. Secondarily, I hadn't seen any formal interviews with Sean specifically about Haggis although Travis did an Essen video overview of the rules. Also, I did a review of Haggis recently and thought it might be nice to follow up with an 'interview' of sorts and, if it goes well, I can maybe continue the trend for other games as well.

Obviously (as you will see) I should have looked around on BoardGameGeek.com a bit more as there was a lot of intrinsic information from Sean posting the original rules and effectively redesigning parts of it interactively with other BGG members via forum posts. But even that sort of information doesn't necessarily get to the essence that some questions might elicit.

So, without further delay, here are the 10+4 questions (+ extras from Travis Worthington, publisher, and Gary Simpson, game artist):

QUESTION 1: Where did you get the idea for Haggis and why did you pursue it?
SEAN: For many years I'd been wanting to find a two player traditional card game, other than Cribbage, that I would really enjoy playing. I'd researched all of the games at www.pagat.com many times over, but I didn't really find what I was looking for.

My search then led me to BGG where I discovered a whole world of games I hadn't known existed. I began learning everything I could and continued searching for that two player game I'd been wanting. Along the way, I discovered Tichu. Even before I played it, I knew it would be amazing. And I very much wanted to play it.

But, at the time, I had almost no opportunities to play games of any kind that would take more than two players. So, I started looking into the two player variants that had been made for Tichu, while also revisiting the two player versions of any and all of the other climbing card games I'd encountered during my research. Nothing satisfied me.

The beginning of the development of Haggis began at that point, back in September of 2005. I played a modified version of Jeremy Friesen's two player variant of Tichu back then - I was already trying to change it before I'd even played it. I asked in the BGG forums if anyone knew of a climbing game that was good to play with two players. There was very little response and what little there was did not indicate that such a thing existed. Larry Levy, however, went out of his way and designed a game (Teech for Two) that he posted at boardgamenews.com. While I enjoyed Larry's game, I found that I kept wanting to add things to it to make it a bit more "interesting".

At around the same time I finally got to play real Tichu (4 player) and that confirmed for me that this was the kind of game I wanted to be able to enjoy when there were only two players, not just 4. Three years later, I posted the first working version of the game that would be further refined into Haggis. That took another year.


[Haggis originally was called "逐步升级 (ZHUBU SHENGJI)", aka 'step-by-step raise the level', aka "Escalation". The name Haggis refers to a Scottish dish made of various sheep organs. Left over cards == left over sheep entrails. Nice.]


[NOTE: Sean sometimes wrote back in giant running paragraphs - stream of thought and all that I suppose. I decided to break out his large blocks into digestible paragraphs - however I did NOT change the content. Just in case Sean was wondering if he reads this...]

QUESTION 2: How much work was involved in developing Haggis?

JUST GAMING AROUND - Vikings on Yucata - Did I REALLY just play a board game online?

I have never really played games online including board games, video games, Facebook games, etc. My only real foray was playing Chess on itsyourturn.com several years ago and only with a friend from work and with my wife's father. Other than that, I have had a general aversion to online gaming and specifically online BOARD gaming pretty much since I started really getting into board gaming in 2008.

When I first started out, one game I played with my friend Chris was called Hive. Man did I LOVE that game. It felt like a fast chess game with interesting mechanics. I immediately went out and bought the wooden version from someone off of BGG (just loved the chunky pieces).

I also tried out the online version against the AI. After playing a few games I realized exactly the strategy it was using to win against me and started doing the same thing but better. Pretty soon I was winning pretty much every game. Then, when I played other people I used the same strategy and pretty much stomped on everyone I played. I quickly lost interest as it had lost it's magic. I was frustrated and disappointed that this terrific game had been ruined for me. I have only played sporadically since then. I'm hoping that eventually the magic will return - we will see. I still have hope.

Since then I have been determined to NOT play games online, particularly against an AI, but even against other players. It just didn't appeal to me, particularly with the bad taste still in my mouth from my Hive experience. I had numerous friends that were playing games online and invitations to play with them, but I generally ignored or politely declined.

Recently I had a great time playing some games FTF with my friend Cary. A day or two later he sent me an email saying he had started playing Vikings on Yucata and that if I wanted to play during lunch or late in the evening he'd love to play. Now, I have heard of Yucata and other such online gaming sites but, honestly, I hadn't even really looked at them - I was aware but purposely ignored them.

For some reason, playing Vikings late in the evening this way sounded fun. I don't know why I had a change of mind. I enjoy playing games with Cary and we'd had a great evening of gaming a couple of days back and perhaps that was...ahem....carrying over. Well, for whatever reason I immediately went over and signed up. I took a look around and set up my account a bit - just settling in and such. Later that evening I got online and sent him a note that we should play. So he fired up a session and I joined.

JUST GAMING AROUND - Small World with my son (or, How To Get Thoroughly TROUNCED by a 7 yr old)

My son was sick this weekend but he still wanted to play some games, so who was I to deny him? We played Micro Mutants: Evolution (one of his favorites I think) and I added the Advanced rules for variety and we had a great time (but I won). Then, I taught him San Juan (in preparation for Race for the Galaxy which he really wants to play) and he did very well scoring 25 to my 34 points - he really picked up on the game quickly and he never asked me what any particular card did, he just kept building away and he got excited when he built a 5 point monument! I was very impressed! (but I won).

Finally, I mentioned he'd probably like Small World. My wife had gotten it for me for Christmas and I hadn't even opened it yet. He was very intrigued by the artwork and so we cracked it opened and started punching it. He organized the race tiles into the tray while I punched and then starting reading up on the rules (even though I've played a couple of times before, I hadn't actually run the game)

So, I explained the rules, selected a sample race to show how a turn would go, and he seemed to understand and didn't have any specific questions.

I suggested he go first and he said I should go first (I presume so he could see again how it went). I insisted he go first as the first race was the Underworld Ratmen and would give him ton of units to start with and easier inroads into caverns. So, he selected it and proceeded to occupy a good number of areas.

I then selected Spirit Elves. I figured I would decline them quickly then move on to the next race. Unfortunately, my son proceeded to stomp on my elves with his Ratmen! The dirty little rat ;) ! The fact that he immediately started attacking rather than going for easier territory scares me a bit.....

Anyhow, I felt that declining them now when I had all the units in hand wasn't best yet, so I advanced them further into 'greener' pastures. Of course, he started stomping me YET AGAIN! Arggh! This proceeded for another turn (sheesh, I really should have declined after the first turn) and he continued to get a good number more points than me.

HOT BOX - "Haggis" by Sean Ross (Review)

I'm glad you stopped by the Board Game Back Room today! I wanted to show you this new game I've had an opportunity to play a little bit and tell you a bit more about it and what I think about it. The game is called "Haggis", was designed by Sean Ross and is published by Travis Worthington's publishing company, Indie Boards and Cards (which also has published Triumvirate, The Resistance and Filipino Fruit Market).

It was originally released in 2010 and was just recently re-printed (2nd printing) in a slightly modified box in 2011. My copy is, in fact, one of the first from the newest batch and can be seen in more detail in my other post of the box opening which I received as a result of a winning bid in the Jack Vasel support auction on BoardGameGeek.com.

Ok, that's enough plugging the company and such....get on with it!
Alright, alright. So, you may have heard this game is Tichu for 2 or 3 players. Honestly, hearing this made me interested as I had played Tichu a few times and found it a fun and challenging card game. For some, this might be off-putting as I know some people that don't like Tichu much at all (although many do) or just cannot play it because they don't have 4 players consistently.

Well, I will start off by saying that, in my assessment, Haggis is both similar AND not similar at the same time. There are certainly elements of Tichu and there is a 'feel' of Tichu, but, I have to say, it is NOT Tichu. I think Tichu players will certainly enjoy this game and be able to get a Tichu-like fix when they don't have 4 total players for Tichu. But, I also think this is a terrific game for non-Tichu players that want an interesting, challenging card game. This might even be a less intimidating game to give a Tichu neophyte a stepping stone to Tichu. Okay, I think I'm done saying Tichu  (I said 'it' way too many times in this paragraph!) but I will say this - Haggis is NOT Tichu.

So, what IS Haggis?
Haggis is, well....Haggis! It is a careful blending of mechanics and features of several card games in the 'climbing' card game family, plus a couple of innovations thrown in as well.

HOT BOX - Antics! (What's in the Box?)

I finally got my hands on Antics recently! I was very excited to get it as I loved my first play of it at an EGG game day in December. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to play it again since then but I knew it was something I really wanted to have a copy of. I was lucky enough to get a nice gift card and used it to help get this game.

My son is really into bugs and, in fact, he had an ant farm a few months ago that he got for his birthday last year and loved it. When he saw this game on my table after it arrived he was very interested in it and wanted to play it right away. So, I knew I had to open it soon.

We still haven't played it yet but here are the pics of the box opening.

Antics! box front

I really love the natural look of the artwork in this game. Nice simple box but lots of interest with the ants running along carrying leaves and bugs they are gathering. I also like how the ants at the bottom are carrying signs with "The Lamont Brothers" and "Fragor Games"!

Speaking of The Lamont Brothers, I have also played (and now own as of recently) the excellent race game Snow Tails. They have also design a number of well regarded games with unique game play including Antler Island, Savannah Tails, and Shear Panic.

Antics box back

Signed up for Gamestorm! Signed up for a couple games! Ready to go NOW!

Well, I procrastinated too much this year. I finally got myself signed up for Gamestorm last week and booked my hotel room TODAY (the last day for the guaranteed convention daily rate). I could probably have booked a room in a local hotel for cheaper rather than directly in the Hilton where the convention is happening, but being in the same hotel is so much more convenient.

Ah well, it's only money, right?

UGH - I can't help thinking: "Gee, I could have bought X number of games for the price of the hotel!"

I seem to do that a lot - convert the cost of something I bought into 'game' value.

"Gee, instead of getting new shoes I could have bought a new game or two!" or "Gee, for the cost of those groceries, I could have bought 3 new games!", or "Gee, I just filled up my tank with gas - I could have bought at least 7 or 8 games at that price!"

Of course, sometimes you can't get around buying groceries or filling up the gas tank, so I guess I just have to decide NOT to get games instead. *sigh*

Anyhow, I digress. Gamestorm. Is it worth it to pay X dollars to attend? Well, first I must qualify that. For me, I have to travel from Eugene to Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA area and get a hotel room. So, the cost to enter the convention is very reasonable ($35 if you sign up by TODAY, or $45 after today). But, I also have to play for a hotel room for 3 days.

Hmmmm, let me see. I get to play games all day long for 4 straight days (March 24-27th this year). I get to play games with some of my good friends that I don't get to play games with much. I get to play games that I can't/don't/won't buy, or try out games checked out from the game library, or even see and/or play games I simply didn't know about. I get to participate in a no-ship math trade (there's some cost savings there - if I actually have something worth trading at least). I get to watch LARPers (not my thing to participate in, but interesting to watch, to a point). I get to eat for free in the hospitality room (well, a small donation is recommended)!

Yah, it's definitely worth it, if only to be able to play games non-stop for 4 days with no (or very little) life interruptions.

Ok, so what is my focus when I go this year?

TIMELY TOPICS - Chess in the Wolf Den

My son is in Cub Scouts. He is in the Wolf Den. And I am the Den Leader this year. So far all the boys have pretty much achieved their Wolf badge for the year (and received them recently at the Blue and Gold dinner/award ceremony). So, they are now working on Electives, Belt Loops and other special achievements for the rest of the year.

Once of the belt loops they can earn is for Chess. For this belt loop they need to be able to identify the chess pieces, show how they move and then play a game of chess. Not too difficult, right? These are 7-8 yr old boys and I figured learning the pieces and moves wouldn't bee too difficult, at least the basics.

I remember being around 7 yrs old when my dad taught me how to play chess. I seem to remember it took me a few years before I could beat him (without him letting me win).

Anyhow, I called one of our Pack leaders and had her bring her 2 sets. With those and my 2 sets I figured that would be enough for if all 6 boys showed up and some ended up playing with their parents, etc.

Once we got there we had a total of 3 boys. I figured the easiest way to get started was to get only one set out and work from there. I first asked them if they had played chess before and they all said they had! Ah, so quizzing them seemed to be the best starting point.

We got out one of the scout leader's nice wooden chess boards - apparently a board passed down in the family. It has nice carved wooden pieces although the King and Queen are difficult to distinguish - they look pretty much the same but the King is taller. Otherwise, a fine board to learn chess on!

First question: Which way does the board go to start setting up? One boy knew which way the board went (correctly) but I asked him HOW he knew that. He said "Because the fold goes across the board". Ah! I hadn't even thought of that! I had always learned/remembered to put the 'white' (light) corner square on the right side (white on the right). I mentioned this as well because not all boards have a fold in them.

Next question: Can you set up the pieces on the board? It was interesting watching them decide which pieces went where. Ultimately, they got everything pretty much correct (although my son initially started putting the pawns on the 3rd row instead of the 2nd row for some reason). The biggest question was if they would get the Queen and King positions correct. Initially they set them up such that the Queens weren't directly across from each other so I talked about how the Queen always goes on her own color and they both start out across from each other.

The next set of questions involved the various pieces: What is this piece called? and How does it move and capture? We proceeded through the different pieces. Not all of the boys understood how the pieces actually moved but eventually 'remembered' / picked up on them for the most part. Of course, actually playing the game I knew would help reinforce the movements.